TTI Spring Conference 2014 - The Digilution of Travel

The first travel website was launched nearly 20 years ago.   This was Expedia, launched by Microsoft in 1996.   It was quickly followed by Sabre's Travelocity.   Hotels and airlines then got in on the act.   With the launch of internet airlines such as easyJet, the mainstream leisure travel companies came to the realisation that being online did not mean putting your brochure on the web but what was needed was the ability for customers to book online.

Since those early days, the digilution of travel has not slowed down.   Innovations and developments in the digital world have continued to arrive thick and fast with many innovations being beyond anyone's predictions.

In the 1990s, no one expected mobile to become a major travel sales channel, no one predicted the advent of the tablet that is fast replacing the home computer as the de facto domestic online access device.   Travel pioneers such as WAYN (Where Are You Now?) launched their social community sites as early as 2002.   This pre-dated Facebook, Twitter and the volcanic rise of social media.

In the early days of search engines, AltaVista and Yahoo! were amongst the dominant brands.   No one predicted that a Google would arrive to dominate the search engine scene.

The world of digital travel is ever-evolving and almost beyond prediction.   However, TTI has assembled a team of expert speakers who understand, more than most, how to capitalise on the digital travel revolution, now and into the future.
Source:etoa.org